Virtually Dangerous
by hi09
Summary: Last episode of Sonic Underground: Robotnik has trapped Sonic and Manic inside their game. Both brother dodge an upcoming laser without any injuries, but what if one of them was actually hit? Read to find out how these two will survive with no help, no power from medallions, and no extra lives. (Basically last episode plot with extra scenes, Rated T cause i'm paranoid)
1. Chapter 1

Awoken from his dream suddenly, Manic stares in bewilderment at the room. The castle background of his dream returns back to the familiar walls of their hideout. His eyes finally focus on his blue brother, staring oddly at him.

"I was dreaming about Destructo coming after us," Manic explains.

"Hey, you don't have to dream about that. Let's go get'm," Sonic states, motivated to play their newly found game.

Cyrus did say they have a few hours of break since they took Robotnik's cargo ships. With the added bonus of more supplies for the Resistance, Sonic was able to redirect a ship back into the egghead's base, leaving some serious damage. And what better way to relax then with some Castle Conquest.

Both brothers immediately rush over to their gaming control, strap the helmets on, and start playing. They soon enter the environment of the game, searching high and low for their gamer friend.

"So where's the big D?" Sonic asks, slightly annoyed their friend isn't there.

As the boys are flying, a familiar triangular ship materializes above them, signaling the return of their missing person.

"Someone looking for me?" A nasally voice asks.

"Hey D-man, wanna go one-on-one or double up and go against the Gauntlet?" Manic asks, offering the play.

"I'd love to teach you two some respect, but, I'm in the mood to see if we can finally kick it in the Gauntlet," Destructo says.

"Cool. Let's do it to it!" Sonic exclaims, eager to see some action, even though it's virtual.

They are about to head over to the Gauntlet arena when Destructo suddenly mentions something interesting.

"Hang on, I got something for ya. Check this out," Destructo says.

The triangular ship suddenly stops as they turn a corner. He fires a laser beam at the nearby light. It only takes a few seconds of the beam for the entire thing to blow up, destroying all the lights on that corner as well as creating a massive hole in the wall.

"Whoahhh," Manic exclaims. "I'd never seen anything like _that_ before!"

Sonic stares worriedly at the prospect of the new weapon. This tips the power scale definitely toward Destructo during a one-on-one.

"I wrote the software myself," Destructo admits.

Sonic and Manic share a look of concern. If Destructo can code any weapon he wants in the video game, they stand practically no chance against him. They should probably act buddy-buddy with him. At least until they are able to even up the playing field.

"I got something even bigger for you later," Destructo continues. "Download this first, if you want it."

Back in the real world, Sonic opens up a hatch on the game control, revealing a red download button. He presses it, listening to it beep as it downloads the new software.

"Downloading," Sonic announces to Destructo in the game.

Sonic closes the hatch and waits for the gift to download.

 **One file downloaded. Install?**

With the game having a deep robotic voice, it's almost hard to hear the slight elevation in pitch as the game asks a question.

"Affirmative," the boys say in unison, excited to see that laser added to their ship.

 **Installation complete**

"Wanna test it?" Sonic asks immediately, itching to press that big red glowing button that suddenly appeared on their dashboard in the game.

"Oh yeah!" Manic responds just as eager.

He steers the ship around the corner and faces Destructo's ship.

"Oh come on, guys. Y-You wouldn't," Destructo stutters, feeling threatened.

In defiance with that statement, Sonic presses the button. Blue lasers fire out in quick succession. One blast hits just behind Destructo's ship but the consecutive blasts hits it's target, surrounding it in a blow electric glow.

"Hey guys that wasn't very.." Destructo is about to complain but before he can finish his sentence, his ship blows up in a cloud of smoke and debris.

Sonic and Manic, witnessing the destruction, simply look on in awe at the new weapon to their arsenal. This will definitely work to even the odds against Destructo and anyone else in the Gauntlet.

"I like it," Sonic states.

Amidst the rubble, a glowing multicolor gate opens up. A familiar, not destroyed triangular ship reappears in the game. Since it is a video game, the brothers expected Destructo to come back. They just didn't think he'd come back so soon or regenerate in the same place. They stare sheepishly as his ship approaches them.

"Oh, haha very funny. Just for that I don't think I'll share the rest of my software," Destructo comments.

"Oh, come on!" Sonic whines childishly.

He steers their ship to join up with Destructo.

"New software? What is it?" Manic asks, intrigued.

"Ok, I'll give you a clue. No more lame castle walls. I created a whole new level," Destructo states, revealing the new software.

"Cool!" Sonic exclaims.

"But first, there's something I wanna show you," Destructo adds, ignoring Sonic's interruption.

"Hey great!" Manic states, hoping for another weapon download.

However, instead of the gift they were looking for, they see a concussion missile zooming straight towards their ship. Suddenly their entire view of the game has been shrouded in a black smoke and debris, signifying the destruction of their ship.

In the real world, Sonic and Manic remove their head pieces.

"Man, he really got us," Sonic comments, not hurt at all that their "friend" turned on them.

Though in retrospect, they probably shouldn't have fired the new weapon Destructo gave them on him.

"Yeah but he's sending us the download. Excellent," Manic comments, noticing the sent download on their control panel.

"Downloading," Sonic announces, opening the hatch and pressing the download button again.

 **One file downloaded. Install?**

"Affirmative," Manic responds to the game.

Sonic closes the hatch and was about to place his helmet back on when a voice announces her presence.

"Oh goody, more games," Sonia states.

She approaches the two boys. Sonic, remembering how their game was interrupted before by their sister, sends out a little warning.

"Hey"

"No worries, I'm just passing through," she states, making a hand motion as if the thought of unplugging their game never crossed her mind.

Just as their sister moves off the the other room, the boys place their headsets back on.

 **Install complete. Activate play?**

"That's a big affirmative," Sonic responds.

Suddenly the world on the headset changes to large intricate caverns that seem to stretch for miles in every direction. Stalactites and stalagmites cover the area, creating intricate columns and arches in the area. Just outside the multicolor portal is the triangular ship of Destructo, meeting them in the game.

"Nice shot Destructo," Manic compliments, harboring no bad feelings towards the dude.

"And nice game background. Ah yeah, killer software," Sonic adds.

"Thanks. Word is you guys did some good work too on Robotnik's cargo ships," Destructo states.

Manic gasps at the mention of their mission. How did he know? They just completed that mission an hour ago. There's no way word could travel that fast of their mission. Not to mention how did he know they were responsible for those cargo ships?

"Thanks, it's going to be months before he gets back to chasing us," Sonic says, ignoring the comment.

Destructo could've been an eye witness to when Sonic crashed into Robotnik's headquarters and then jumped out. There could be hundreds of reasons of how Destructo got that information so quickly.

"Oh I wouldn't be to sure of that," he mutters, laughing hysterically at the two hedgehogs.

His voice and appearance changes from the nasally gamer to the target of their previous mission, Robotnik himself. Sonic and Manic although shocked at the discovery are more worried about the glow around their ship and the spots of transparency they are noticing on the walls and floor.

Back in the real world, Sonia enters the room with her brothers, wanting them to enjoy themselves by offering a peace treaty.

"You guys what something to eat?" Sonia offers.

"Oh my gosh!"

All next trains of thoughts die in her throat as she sees both her brothers surrounded in blue glow. They are trembling in their seat, teeth bared and gritted from the intensity of the vibrations.

"It's Robotnik!" Sonic exclaims.

Those two words is all she hears from her brothers as they become digitized and disappear from the room, leaving nothing but their headsets to roll around on the ground until they become still. Sonia screams in shock as her brothers just disappeared from the room!

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed Ch. 1 of my first story! But first a disclaimer:** **Sonic Underground and it's characters do not belong to me (nor will they ever). Please leave a comment as I'd love to know how I can improve. Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

"What happens when the ship's gone?" Manic asks, worried for their safety.

"Who cares? It's just a game. We can't get hurt," Sonic says, attempting to comfort his distressed brother.

That thought is immediately challenged when the ship disappears completely, making Sonic and Manic fall from the sky. Reacting as any normal person would, they scream as they ground gets closer to them. Both brothers land on their backs with an oof as they wind is knocked out of them. Although taking some time to register that the fall did indeed hurt, they sit up quickly since Robotnik's ship hovers menacingly above them.

"You don't get it yet, do you hedgehogs? You're inside the game," Robotnik states. "If I destroy you here, you're gone forever! Which is, by the way, my intention."

Sonic taps his foot impatiently. There is no way their day of rest is going to end up like this.

"Can you believe this guy?" Sonic asks before revving.

He speeds up one of the cavern columns and jumps on top of Robotnik's ship. He stands proudly on top as if stating: Hah! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog there's no way Robotnik can hurt me in a video game! However he is painfully proven wrong as a forcefield activates on Robotnik's ship, zapping the blue hedgehog to get off. Sonic complies, jumping off and joining his brother down below.

"So? What do you think?" Sonic asks.

Manic hesitates, his mind is stuck on the fact that one, they are inside the game, and two, they _can_ be hurt in this game.

"Not good," Manic states intelligently, too shocked from everything to say anything else.

The hum of lasers starts up, alerting Sonic of the upcoming blast. His memory places the sound of the laser to that new weapon Destructo, Robotnik, showed them earlier. The one that placed a massive hole in the castle wall. Moving out of instinct, he pushes the frozen younger triplet out of the way. A blazing heat cuts across Sonic's leg as he rolls out of the way, following the momentum of his push. Both brothers, sitting on the ground, stare up at Robotnik's ship as the laser blasts behind them, realizing he is serious about killing them. They stand up, pick a direction, and run away, completely vulnerable to Robotnik's limitless virtual ammunition.

"Move it Manic!" Sonic commands, running alongside his brother.

Although Sonic tries to stay with him, he unconsciously speeds up, pulling farther away.

"Sonic, wait up!" Manic calls from behind.

Manic's breaths start coming out heavily as he starts panicking in the situation. He reaches an arm out to his brother as the distance between them gets greater and greater.

A laser beam impacted right near the green hedgehog's heel causes him to trip, skidding across the cavern floor. Sonic looks back after hearing the blast and sees Robotnik about to blast the still recovering hedgehog. He growls at Robotnik before rushing towards his brother. What feels like minutes to the speeding hedgehog is seconds to the scared Manic. On second he's staring in fear at his impending doom, the next he's clinging to his brother in blue's shoulder as they speed away in the virtual caverns.

Robotnik's ship, relentless in it's pursuit to destroy those blasted hedgehogs fires the same destructive laser over and over, hoping to decimate one or both of the brothers. Although Manic's glad his brother saved him, he realizes they are going fast. Faster than what Sonic usually runs at. Sonic, on the other hand, is annoyed. Not only is Robotnik's virtual ship faster than anything the tyrant has built in the real world but also has more destructive weaponry. And without their medallions to fire back, the only option left is to keep running. However, even that option seems limiting as the throbbing in Sonic's leg continues with every footstep. After another close call with the laser, Sonic speeds up even more, figuring out the correct speed to run at to avoid getting hit but doesn't get him too tired too quickly. Noticing that Robotnik has stopped firing those close ranged lasers, Sonic remains at the current velocity.

"Dude, how long can you keep up this pace?" Manic asks worriedly.

"I don't know. But we're not giving up," Sonic states, assuring his brother he's not fighting alone.

Manic wraps his arms around Sonic's neck to free up one arm as he looks behind him at Robotnik's ship. Even though they are going awfully fast, the enemy ship is still pretty close behind them. Manic notices a missile approaching them and sees it gain ground with every second.

"Oh no! Concussion impact missile right on our tail!" Manic warns.

"Reversing course. Hold on!" Sonic states.

Manic tightens his hold on Sonic slightly as they accelerate even faster, running up the cave walls then the ceiling and back to the cave floor. Repeating this loop several times as they wait for the missile to figure out where is its target. Sonic steers clear of the loop as the missile passes them, exploding on the rocks behind. By the time it actually explodes, the brothers are long gone. Manic swears he can hear Robotnik curse for having to spend an extra few minutes redirecting his ship in pursuit of the hedgehogs. Manic sighs in relief for the extra few minutes bought. Sonic, although relieved to have gained an edge, is more focused on the pain throbbing in his leg. His fist tight and teeth clenched, he bears through the pain, accelerating even more to increase the distance between them. Even though it hurts, he won't let a stupid injury cause the death of his brother or himself.

After the thirty minute long chase from Robotnik, Sonic has been speeding up more and more. Ensuring to place distance between the two groups. A tightening in his legs causes Sonic to falter for a second, stumbling as he tries to regain his balance. At the high speeds they're traveling at, a crash is lethal. Thankfully, Sonic was able to catch himself before they fell, continuing the pace.

"Whoah, what happened?" Manic asks.

"Probably just a rock. Hard to make out small objects at this speed," Sonic explains, hoping his brother bought the excuse.

Manic shrugs it off and continues daydreaming as they cruise down the tunnels. They've been navigating these tunnels blindly. Unsure of where they are going except away. Even though Manic has been carried around by his brother countless times, he finds it amazing that they can still see the scenery despite running at such high speeds. As his brother continues looking around, Sonic's mind is busy trying to figure out a plan. He knows he has to check on that wound on his leg. His slip up almost cause him to drag Manic down with him in the fall. He can't allow that to happen. He usually never lets pain interfere with the mission but he can't ignore it any longer. It's been pulsating with pain the entire time he's been running. He needs to find a place to hide so he can look at it. Sonic looks around, criticizing and rejecting several rock outcropping.

After another ten minutes with no hiding place found, and another cramp almost making him fall, he picks the next suitable area and slows down, hiding behind the rocks. As soon as Sonic skids to a halt, Manic walks around, stretching his legs and exploring the area. Sonic must have found something here or else why would he stop? Having found nothing except more rocks, Manic turns to his brother.

"Dude what's the big idea?" he demands.

All other words disappear as he spot his brother. His tough, fast, robot busting brother, leaning heavily against the rocks. Fist clenched he glares sternly at the blood covering the bottom of his leg.

"Not good," Manic gasps rushing over to his side.

The wound itself isn't that deep, only about an inch in depth, but the surrounding burns make it cringeworthy. Not to mention the rivulets of blood making their way down his leg. Manic rips a piece of his jacket and tries to clean the blood off his brother.

"When did this happen?" Manic asks sternly, annoyed that his brother hid this from him.

"Back when Buttnik first shot at us," Sonic admits.

He hisses as Manic touches the wound, bringing his leg closer towards his chest. But Manic is not in the mood, he pulls his leg back towards him and continues cleaning. Finally after the majority of the blood taken care of, Manic rips another piece of fabric off the jacket, placing it over the wound and tying it securely. Hopefully it'll staunch the blood flow until it scabs over. His work done, the green, spiky hedgehog stares up at his brother's face, gauging his state of being. Despite running for a while on that leg, Sonic doesn't look worse for wear. But just in case…

"How're you feeling dude?" Manic questions.

"I'll feel better once we get out of this game. Sonia must have noticed we're gone by now. Hopefully she sent for help," Sonic responds slightly wearily.

Manic clenches his fist tightly at the sound of his voice. Sonic's starting to get tired. And continuing to run from Robotnik on that leg will only make it worse. Manic knows his brother is fidgety and can't stand sitting around for Sonia to come to the rescue. But he also knows Sonic needs to rest.

"Hey, how about we lay low for a while," Manic suggests.

Sonic stares critically at Manic, not liking the idea of waiting and becoming an easier target for Robotnik.

"We should regroup and figure out how to get out of here. We can't just keep running around forever," Manic argues.

"Alright. We'll hide for a little while. But let's find another place, I can hear Robuttnik's ship following us," Sonic says, pushing off the rock and testing the strength of his leg.

Manic ponders what his brother could mean. He doesn't hear anything approaching them. When he turns to where they came from, he notices a sparse trail of blood leading to this exact spot. Before he has time to scold his brother for not informing him of his injury before hand, Sonic has already picked him up and revved away.

They switched from hiding spot to hiding spot, each time noticing Robotnik following them and deciding to move. Finally, after about half an hour of this game of cat and mouse. Sonic finds a spot and stops, his legs starting to feel the effects of fatigue. Both brothers check behind the wall, ensuring Robotnik is no where to be found.

"I think we lost him," Sonic mutters, hopeful.

He will never admit it, but the pain is starting to become unbearable. He desires so badly to just sit down and get off the leg, but he knows he has to keep moving. Robotnik is bound to find them again.

"It's _his_ game, Sonic, I don't think we _can_ lose him," Manic mutters skeptically.

"That's correct, hedgehogs!" A speaker with the dreadful voice of Robotnik announces.

Both Sonic and Manic stare up in surprise as Robotnik's ship materializes out of the cavern background. Sonic growls in frustration.

"Well that's not exactly fair, is it?" Sonic says, clenching his teeth from the pain and grabbing his brother's arm.

He revs away, reaching a supposedly safe distance when a cavern wall materializes out of nowhere, blocking their path. Sonic screeches to a sudden halt, not enjoying the sudden jolt of pain from his leg for stopping so suddenly.

"Sonic, dude, try a super-spin!" Manic suggests enthusiastically.

Sonic stares at his brother's hopeful eyes. Sonic can practically hear Manic's thoughts: _If he can bust through these virtual walls, then maybe they destroy Robotnik's ship and stop him from following them!_ He is painfully reminded of his injury and doubt starts to creep in. The spin will definitely be less powerful, but it's worth a shot.

"Good idea bro," Sonic compliments.

He spins on his uninjured leg, going faster until he's reached robot crushing speeds before colliding with the wall. Manic gasps as he realizes his mistake of making his injured brother do the extended effort. After colliding with it twice, Sonic starts groaning and slows down to a stop, grasping his reeling head from the pain.

"Whoah-ho-ho, ba~ad idea," Manic states ready to catch Sonic if need be.

"Big up on that," Sonic adds, clutching his head tentatively.

As he's trying to stabilize his vision, his leg feels completely enflamed. Running is a simple motion, however, spinning fast enough to break through metal? Not simple.

A laser blast impacted near Manic startle both hedgehogs. Sonic grabs his brother's arm again, preparing to run. Before he can move, Robotnik encircles the hedgehogs with fire, ensuring they cannot escape like last time.

"We're trapped!" Manic announces, terrified.

Sonic growls slightly. His vision is dotted with these annoying black dots. No matter how many times he tries to blink them away they are still there. He must have lost too much blood.

"Sonic, what do we do?" Manic asks, staring to panic.

Sonic, however, has his own problems as his injured leg starts quivering from being put under such heavy strain for more than an hour. Manic notices his bro isn't doing so well, but can't do anything to help. He doesn't have Sonia's super-spin, or Sonic's speed, and he doubts their medallions work in a virtual game. There's nothing for him to do! Just as the two brothers stare hopelessly at their demise by a concussion blast, something knocks Robotnik's ship away before he can fire. A familiar teal green ship and within it a very familiar pink hedgehog, waving at them.

"All right!" Sonic cheers, relieved beyond words.

"Yo sis! Hooray!" Manic yells ecstatically.

Sonic grabs his brother's wrist, revs, and jumps over the ring of fire as Sonia keep Robotnik off their backs. Despite trying to cover his exhaustion to comfort his brother, Manic can hear Sonic's breaths coming out heavily as he nears his limit. Sonic grips his free hand in a tight fist as the throbbing in his leg never seems to cease. Manic feels a bitter cold settle in his stomach at his uselessness. The best he can do is convince Sonic to wait.

"Bro, come on, let's stop over there. We'll wait for Sonia to come," Manic suggests pleadingly.

Sonic stares at the direction his younger triplet is pointing. So tired he's unable to argue, Sonic runs over behind the rocks, decelerating the way there. Eager to get off his aching legs, Sonic slides down to the ground and silently catches his breath, shutting his eyes to quell his headache. Manic checks on his brother's leg while he rests. The once bright red fabric is now a dark maroon from the blood. Some small streams have started to make it past the fabric barrier, mocking the valiant efforts of the green hedgehog of helping. The constant running around at high speeds must be reopening the wound no matter how much time Sonic spends to rest in order for it to scab over. They need to get out of this world soon and treat that wound.

"Dude, how're holdin' up?" Manic mutters concerningly.

"Feel like a thousand mobiums," He responds slightly breathlessly, a cocky smile on his face.

Despite Manic feeling guilty and scared in this situation, his brother's calm, collected demeanor makes him feel a bit better. As they rest, he takes into account all the injuries they've amassed. The only one that is worrisome is the one on Sonic's leg which cannot be dealt with right now. Manic got a few scratches from his fall earlier but those have already scabbed over. Sonic must have gotten a few bruises from that super-spin before. Not just physical injuries but Sonic is getting tired, although he's trying to hide it. Once Sonic reaches his limit and can't run anymore, they'll be at the mercy of Robotnik. How are they going to survive this?

As if reading Manic's thoughts, the whine of a ship's engine can be heard from a distance. Manic notices his brother's ear twitching, acknowledging its presence. Sonic stands, using the wall for support, and walks out as if there isn't a bleeding gash on his leg. Manic stays close behind him, in case it's Robotnik again and they have to make a run for it. But the smile spreading on Sonic's face as he recognizes the ship tells Manic their problems may soon be over.

"Sonia! Over here!"

"Over here, Sonia!"

Both hedgehogs repeatedly yell their sister's name, waving their arms back and forth to get her attention. The teal green ship descends and lands on the ground before the hatch door opens. Sonic and Manic run over to the open doorway, eager to be in a form of transportation with weaponry rather than out in the open. On the way, Manic notices his brother is actually behind him as they run. Worry and fear start nagging at the green brother again but it's all squashed down by the sight of their pink hedgehog sister.

"Sonic! Manic!" Sonia exclaims, rushing over to them and hugging them tightly.

"Sup Sonia!" Manic greets.

"What took you so long?" Sonic teases.

They step away from their embrace as they get back to the matter as hand.

"Didn't want to mess anything up so I called Cyrus for help. Took a while for him to come and to come up with a plan. Or would you rather I leave the two of you stuck in the game forever," Sonia explains, teasing a slight threat at the brothers.

Sonia is so glad to see her brothers again. When she saw them disappearing, she was so scared she'd lose the only family she has left. Unfortunately, the expression on her brothers' faces were not what she was expecting when she responded to Sonic's snarky remark. Manic's heart races at the possibility of being stuck here. Even the confident Sonic fears what could've happened if they were really stuck in here forever. As it is, he doubts he'll be able to run as fast as he wants anymore. Sonia stares perplexed at the worry expressions his brothers portrayed, but as soon as it appears Sonic masks it and assumes the role of a Freedom Fighter again.

"Are you guys ok? Was it something I said?" Sonia asks worriedly.

She did not like those expressions she saw, although brief on Sonic's face. Manic stares worriedly at Sonic who remains stoic, revealing no emotion or exhaustion on his face. Sonia stares wonderingly at the two of them. What happened?

"So, what's the plan?" Sonic asks sternly.

Sonia recognizes Sonic's attempt to avoid the subject. They have a small staring contest. Sonia staring at her brother's eyes waiting for him to cough up any information while Sonic stares just as intently at his sister, making her drop the issue. Sonia sighs, losing the battle of wills and wondering what is she going to do with her stubborn brother.

"Cyrus is going to find Robotnik's satellite dish and disconnect it, making him lose control of the game. In the meantime, we gotta get to the control panel and make Robotnik stuck in here too," Sonia explains sternly.

"Alright then, let's do it to it!" Sonic exclaims.

Motivated by their elder triplet, the two remaining hedgehogs get to work. Manic positions himself near the map display of the area, navigating Sonia in the correct direction as she steers. Sonic, skeptical of his ability to stay focused with the pain, stands behind his sister's chair, overlooking where they're going. The entire ride, both pink and green hedgehogs worry about their silent blue brother behind them. Sonia often watches Manic's face, attempting to decipher what's bothering him through his emotions. But Manic is completely concentrated on the map. The sooner they get out of here, the quicker they can treat Sonic's injury.

"Yo, this next passageway should get us to the control room," Manic says, informing Sonia to continue flying through the tunnel like cavern.

Laser beams appear out of nowhere, and suddenly all the members in the ship have to brace themselves as Sonia rears out of the way of the blasts. Sonic and Manic, who weren't holding on to anything or sitting down at a seat, are thrown backwards and hit the floor of the ship. Manic recovers quickly and grabs onto the base of the pilot's seat, however, Sonic is too busy suppressing his pain to latch on to anything as the ship continues to move.

"Sonic!" Manic yells as the ship jolts out of the way again, deftly avoiding getting hit but making Sonic roll further away.

Sonia expertly dodges the blasts from Robotnik's ship, however her maneuvers are causing Sonic to roll around all over the place. Manic tries to reach out and hold onto his brother but he keeps rolling just out of his grasp. On a very tight turn, Sonic slams right into the wall. He screams out in pain as his wound is opened again.

"What happened?" Sonia asks worriedly at the sound of the scream.

"Buttnik fired a laser at us when we first realized we were stuck in the game. Sonic pushed me outta the way but the laser hit him in the leg. He's been running around on it the entire time as we were getting away," Manic explains.

Sonia gasps, imagining his brother running with an injured leg, not to mention the amount of blood he must have lost because of it. She gets so distracted in her thoughts, she almost crashes into the cavern wall. She recovers quickly and Sonic rolls back towards Manic limply. The spiked green hedgehog is finally able to hold down his brother.

"Got ya!" Manic yells.

Sonic breaths are uneven, eyes tightly closed, as he tries to regain himself.

"Hang on!" Sonia warns as she turns the ship around, preparing to fire.

Unexpectedly, the inside of the ship starts glowing a familiar blue, the floor and the entire ship disappears….again. All three siblings shout in surprise and some fear as they slide down the cavern wall to the floor. They lay there dazed for a few seconds before sitting up.

"That's not my favorite ride," Sonic states with utter doneness as he grabs his head from rolling around the inside of the ship.

Sonia and Manic stare just as annoyed at the area around them.

"Here he comes," Manic warns, spotting the approaching ship.

The siblings all stand, however Sonic stands very slowly, his leg in pain and feeling tight. Sonia glances towards her brother as she hears him curse under his breath and finally spots the dark red fabric tied around his leg. Sonia focuses on that red fabric, willing it and the wound underneath to go away to no avail. Eventually, she gives up on trying to make it disappear and focus on making sure they make it back safely to help Sonic. The glare all three siblings give to the triangular ship would make it explode if looks could kill. Unfortunately, it's the ship who fires two laser blasts. Although the shots missed the hedgehogs by miles due to the distance shot from, it still caused Sonic to decide enough was enough. He grabs his siblings arms and revs away, carrying them the remaining distance to the control room. Sonia and Manic share a concerned look as they realize not only is Sonic running on his leg again but also that it look a lot longer for him to rev up before running. Both siblings vow to get out of this world quickly, before their brother runs out of energy.

They make it to the control room in a flash, witnessing the first area which appears more like the inside of a computer than the caverns they just left.

"If I activate this one, Robotnik gets sucked into the game," Sonia explains briefly, indicating the floating cube needed.

"Ok, but you better hurry, cause here he co~mes," Sonic jokes, but mentally he hopes to end this quickly.

It unnerves Sonic how quickly Buttnik was able to catch up to them. If Sonia doesn't hurry it up, he won't last too much longer. Robotnik's ship zooms through the tunnel and speeds down towards the three hedgehogs menacingly. A concussive missile launches, aiming to end the Sonic Underground and the leaders of the Freedom Fighters once and for all.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Cliffhanger! I see now why author's find this fun. Sonic seems to be in a bit of trouble huh? Will they make it out alive? The suspense is lethal! Have a great day! Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Sorry for the log wait! School kinda caught up to me after vacation. Now, for the final chapter of Virtually Dangerous! Hope you've enjoyed it!**

* * *

Robotnik's ship zooms through the tunnel and speeds down towards the three hedgehogs menacingly. A concussive missile launches, aiming to end the Sonic Underground and the leaders of the Freedom Fighters once and for all. Sonic grabs his siblings hands in what will most likely be his last rev before he becomes too tired, however, before the missile can hit, all three hedgehogs are transported away in a flash of light.

"What happened?" Sonic asks in bewilderment, finding himself and his siblings back where they started.

"Cyrus must have found Robotnik's satellite dish," Sonia explains joyfully.

Feeling the effects of exhaustion and the last of adrenaline leaving their bodies, the triplets make their way out of the room to rest. Sonic watches his brother and sister leave, inspecting them from head to toe, seeing if they have any injuries. Satisfied they are unharmed, Sonic raises a leg to follow them out. Suddenly, Sonia whips around, glaring menacingly at Sonic.

"Sonic Hedgehog do not move a single muscle! Sit down over there and wait for me to get the medical kit," She orders sternly.

Sonic makes a mental note: Sonia is scarier than facing an entire army of Robotnik's robots. He silently gulps before staring at her teasingly.

"How am I supposed to walk over to the chair if I'm not supposed to move a muscle?" Sonic quips.

Sonia rolls her eyes, smiling at her brother endearingly, before leaving the room for the kit. If he can still joke around then maybe he wasn't so hurt after all. Sonic smiles as his sister leaves, satisfied she believes he still has energy left. He hates to see his sister get worried like that. He hates seeing his _family_ like that. Believing no one is watching, he drops his tough guy act and hobbles over to the nearest chair, completely unable to put any pressure on his leg. He sits on the chair and sighs in relief. The danger is gone. His siblings are safe. And they are home. Those are the last thought he have before he dozes, exhaustion overruling his battered body and demanding he sleeps.

What Sonic doesn't notice is Manic watching his mask fall and how hurt he really was. Guilt twists his insides as he realizes Sonic could barely walk on that leg, let alone run at high speeds with two other passengers clinging on him. Yet he had to if they were to survive. If Manic was able to actually do something other than just play the brother in distress then maybe he could have saved Sonic some of the pain. He slides down the wall, knees tucked into his chest as silent tears flow from his cheeks.

Sonia, returning with the kit, notices Manic's position and plans to deal with it after Sonic's injury is treated. She enters the room and smiles softly at how innocent her brother looks. Although all three of them have been fighting for a little over a year after being reunited, Sonic was part of the Freedom Fighters for so much longer than that. It's been forever since she's last seen him so relaxed in his sleep and she lets him enjoy the much needed rest. She undoes the piece of fabric and sees the gash and the horrible burns around it from the laser. She opens the kit and expertly cleans the wound and the burns, places the correct ointments, places a gauze pad over the entire wound, and wraps wraps the entire thing up in a clean white bandage. She sits back and examines her work before closing the kit and putting it away. The entire time Sonic barely moved an inch, a rare occurrence for a fidgety speedy hedgehog. She covers him in a light blanket and leaves the room.

She sees Manic in the same position as before and even hears a faint sob. Worried, she sits down beside him and places a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you ok? What's wrong?" Sonia asks compassionately.

"I wasn't able to do anything, sis. Sonic kept running, dodging the blasts, getting us to safety and I was just carried away from one location to the nest. I wasn't able to keep Buttnik off our backs or run alongside Sonic or anything. I was completely useless. The one idea I came up with got Sonic hurt even more. What if, during a mission, I mess up and one of you gets really hurt because of it?" Sonic rants, face covered in his arms as he voices his deepest worries ever since he realized he didn't have powers like his siblings.

"Oh, Manic, we've always got your back. And we know you got ours. We rely on Sonic for his speed and his leadership with the Resistance. I'd like to think you two rely on me to cover your backs and think of some strategies. Even though I know I'm not always there for you guys when things get….dirty," Sonia explains.

Manic chuckles a bit as hi sister admits her weakness. Sonia continues with renewed effort seeing she's making an impact on brightening her brother's mood.

"And both me and Sonic rely on you to get us out of tough situations. You always find a locked door you can pick or a convenient item you "stored" away that helps us get out trouble. You're the drums in the Sonic Underground. We rely on you to keep the beat and keep us together in sync. Otherwise our songs, and fighting, would most likely stink," Sonia adds.

Manic starts laughing more at his sticky finger habit. Recalling all the past events that those items actually came in handy despite Sonic's attempts to return the stolen property. As he starts walking down memory lane, he realizes what his sister said was true. Sonic, although fast on his feet, doesn't always think things through, often leading him into trouble. Sonia, on the other hand, plans so far ahead that she gets caught up if there is a kink, which is most often caused by Sonic. It's him who has to balance both his sibs out and come up with a plan that allows Sonic to be flexible while still accounting for the strategies of his sister.

"Thanks sis," Manic says, embracing his sister.

"Anytime brother," Sonia responds, returning the hug.

"If you guys are done with the pep talk, we gotta go," a voice announces from behind them.

Both siblings stare up at their brother. They completely forgot they have to unload all the cargo ships. Sonia stands and goes to get her bike. Manic stares at the retreating figure of their sister before staring at Sonic. Sonic stares at his brother, not liking the expression in his eyes. Manic's eyes travel down his brother's body, noticing all the bruises starting to form on his body. He stops finally at the white wrap around his leg. He can't seem to focus on anything else except what lies beneath that bandage. Manic has so much he wants to say, but he seems to have trouble even forming the words.

"Sonic..I.." Manic starts, his voice starting to crack.

"Don't bother," Sonic mutters.

Manic freezes and stares at him, scared of what he'll say next. His cold eyes and expressionless face don't ease the worry and guilt in his stomach.

"I was overhearing everything you told Sonia," Sonic admits.

Manic's eyes widen. He didn't expect to admit his fears in front of his Sonic especially since none of his injuries would have happened were it not for him.

"I'm sorry," Sonic says.

Manic mouth opens wide, out of all the things he expected his brother to say, "sorry" was not one of them.

"What?" Manic exclaims.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Sonic apologizes.

Manic stands at that, infuriated.

"Why are you apologizing? You were to reason we all made it back here alive!" Manic states.

"But I didn't tell you about my leg. Maybe if I did, then we could've done something about it earlier. I wasn't even fast enough to avoid the laser in the first place," Sonic argues.

"We were being shot down by Buttnik. There was no time to stop and check your wound. You had to push yourself just to get away from his ship. There was no way we would have time to check it earlier. And it was your speed that saved me and you from getting hurt any worse. If we got hit from that laser directly, we would've died. There's no reason for you to be sorry!" Manic yells emotionally.

"Thanks bro, but if you can forgive me that easily. Why can't you forgive yourself?" Sonic states, dropping his gloomy act and replacing it with a knowing smirk.

Manic stares dumfounded. He just got played. Who knew his brother was so good at acting?

"But, if I had powers, I could've run along side you to get away. You wouldn't have had to carry me," Manic states.

"Manic, I would've been running on my leg regardless. A few extra pounds isn't going to change anything," Sonic argues.

"But…but," Manic stutters trying to make Sonic see his uselessness.

"No buts bro. Hear me out. Who was the one that anchored me down on the ship?" Sonic asks.

"I did," Manic replies.

"Who cleaned up my injury as best as he could despite being in a virtual world?"

"Me."

"Who was the only one that came up with an idea during that entire fiasco?"

"But my idea got you hurt even more," Manic explains, interrupting his brother.

"True, but it was worth trying. If I didn't think I couldn't pulled it off, bro, I wouldn't have tried it. Plus not like I came up with any other ideas," Sonic explains.

Manic stares in disbelief. Despite feeling completely useless in the game, he actually helped Sonic out a bit.

"The last, and most important, part. Who was the stubborn hedgehog that told me to rest despite me continuing to exert myself?"

Manic stares up in surprise. He forgot all about that. Sonic would've ran himself to the ground if Manic didn't force him to rest. He actually saved Sonic a few minutes to rest and recover. Suddenly, the balled up sadness and guilt in his stomach melted away. Manic smiled and hugged his brother tightly. Sonic, unfazed by the vice like grip or him bothering his bruises, hugs Manic back.

"Thanks Sonic," Manic mutters in his shoulder.

Sonic chuckles, glad he cheered up his brother.

"SONIC! MANIC!" a very angry voice yells from the door.

Both Sonic and Manic visibly wince from the volume. Note to self: Never get Sonia angry.

"Guess we better go," Manic says, pointing hesitantly to the doorway with their demon sister awaits.

"Guess so," Sonic mutters, just as nervous to head over there as Manic.

Both brothers laugh before rushing over to their sister. They still have a job to do after all.

Sonic and Manic leave the last cargo ship, hands filled with supply boxes. As they set them down with the others, Sonia checks the cargo list, making sure they got everything.

"Well, that's the last of the cargo," Sonia states, typing away on her computer to let Cyrus and the other Freedom Fighters know to pick up the supplies.

"Great! But what do we do with these cargo ships?" Manic asks, pointing at the three ships waiting behind them.

"We give'm back," Sonic states, an ingenious plan forming in his head.

"Oh no, there is no way you're piloting with you leg. You're lucky I even allowed you to carry those boxes," Sonia threatens, protective over her brother's health.

"Chill, sis, this plan doesn't even require us to leave this building," Sonic says.

Manic and Sonia stare at each other, perplexed as to what their brother could be thinking. Sonic tells them the materials they need which surprises the two even more, but they listen to him. Curious to see how this will work. Sonia, adamant about Sonic not moving on his leg, orders him to sit down and wait while they get the supplies.

An hour later, everything is set up. The control panel, once holding the Castle Conquest game, is hooked up to three headsets.

"We'll call this: Advantage Hedgehogs!" Sonic states proudly.

The three hedgehogs look around in the headset and move around the joystick, getting use to the feel. Comfortable with their skill, they maneuver the ships hooked up to the individual joysticks. They take off from the abandoned building they were hiding in and fly full speed towards Robotnik's headquarters looming not too far away. The destination set, the siblings stare out from the window, waiting for the moment of truth. The three cargo ships crash into the building with a loud, satisfying explosion. The three teens swear they can hear Robotnik yelling at them for their dastardly deed but they are too busy celebrating to notice it.

"We did it!" Sonia exclaims joyfully.

"Alright!" Manic cheers.

"Game over, Buttnik," Sonic taunts, glaring at the destroyed headquarters as if the man himself can hear him.

The three siblings stare at each other, hope and laughter on their faces as they've caused the delay of Robotnik's plans. The Resistance now has enough time to plan an attack, one that will end Robotnik's tyranny once and for all. But that adventure for another day.

Sonia, Manic, and Sonic return back to their hideout. Eager to get a full night's rest.

For tomorrow is another adventure for the Sonic Underground!


End file.
